Intentional "Footprints"

A couple of years ago we had the privilege of traveling to Italy
on an amazing vacation. We had always heard that the temporal and
financial cost of such a trip was exponentially rewarded by the
experience.

Although we typically shy away from guided tours, we decided the
opportunity to tour Pompeii was too good to pass up. As we walked
among the structural remnants of this ancient community I was
touched by the awareness that almost two-thousand years ago
families were living their lives among these homes and shops. They
had walked down these cobbled streets, avoiding horse-drawn carts
and carriages that left tracks etched in the stone and that were
still visible today. They had decorated the walls of their homes
with beautifully pigmented paint, sometimes depicting specific
aspects of their lifestyle. One could reportedly identify the
economic status of a family by the colors they had their walls
painted. I was amazed at the ingenuity of the lead piping that
carried water into their homes and businesses (and by the fact that
they apparently felt no need to use the same technique to remove
waste from their structures, choosing instead to dump it in the
street outside).

I think I had always assumed a community of so many years past
was inhabited by individuals who were lucky to figure out how to
pull water from a well, much less get it into a house. Instead it
became obvious that these had been intelligent, creative, and
ingenious people who had been living a vibrant life when Mt.
Vesuvius erupted on that fateful day. They had left behind, buried
among the volcanic ash for centuries, the "footprints" of their
existence which we get to observe today.

I couldn't help but wonder what other "footprints" might these
people have left behind had they known what was coming. Would they
have been more intentional in their choices, much like we do today
with those special occasion time capsules we bury for later
excavation? As I asked myself this question it allowed me to
reflect on what "footprints" I am leaving as I go about my daily
routine, and how intentional am I being about those "footprints?"
When all is said and done, what kind of person do I want my
"footprints" to represent? Perhaps by being more intentional about
the "footprints" I leave behind I will be able to rest a bit more
easily.